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Eric Rhys Taylor edited this page May 2, 2026 · 39 revisions

Settings Reference

Access via Obsidian Settings -> Community Plugins -> Radial Timeline.

This page serves as a comprehensive reference for all plugin settings.

Settings Tabs

The settings interface is organized into seven tabs:

  • Core — Timeline configuration, progress tracking, story beats, chronology, and metadata
  • Social — Author Progress Report (APR) for sharing your writing journey
  • Inquiry — Corpus scanning, prompt libraries, and Inquiry automation
  • Publish — Manuscript export via Pandoc with templates and format configuration
  • AI — AI provider configuration, model selection, and analysis settings
  • Advanced — Technical configuration and file handling
  • PRO — Pro entitlement, access keys, and feature overview

Use the tab bar at the top of the settings panel to switch between sections.

Core Tab

General

  • Source path: The root folder in your vault containing your manuscript scene files (e.g., Book 1). Leave blank to scan the entire vault.
  • Show source path as title: When enabled, the timeline uses the source folder name as the central title. When disabled, it displays "Work in Progress".
  • Logs & generated files output folder: Storage location for AI logs and local LLM reports (default Radial Timeline/Logs).
  • Export folder: Destination for manuscript, outline, and cue card exports — Markdown, PDF, beat sheets, and index cards (default Radial Timeline/Export).

Progress and status

Manage your project's milestones and status tracking.

Stage Target Dates:

  • Zero target date: Target completion date for the Zero Draft stage (YYYY-MM-DD). A marker appears on the timeline when set.
  • Author target date: Target completion date for the Author's Draft stage. Must be after the Zero target date.
  • House target date: Target completion date for the House Edit stage. Must be after the Author target date.
  • Press target date: Target completion date for the Press Ready stage. Must be after the House target date.

Target dates are validated to ensure proper stage ordering. Overdue dates are highlighted in red. Each stage has its own color-coded marker on the timeline.

  • Zero draft mode: A focused mode for first-draft writing. Intercepts clicks on scenes with Publish Stage = Zero and Status = Complete to open a "Pending Edits" modal instead of the full note.
  • Show completion estimate: Toggles the predicted completion tick mark on the timeline.
  • Completion estimate window (days): Rolling window (default 30, min 14, max 90) used to measure pace. Pace = completions in the active stage within the last N days / N (scenes/day).

How the completion estimate works

  • Scope: Only the active stage (highest stage with any incomplete scenes). Other stages do not affect pace or remaining.
  • Total scenes for the active stage: max(unique stage scenes, highest scene number seen anywhere). This lets an early high-numbered scene (e.g., "Scene 70") set a floor even if few notes exist.
  • Remaining: Total - Completed (stage-scoped, deduped by path, clamped to >= 0).
  • Date: Requires at least 2 completed scenes in the window for a confident pace. With fewer, the geometry stays but the label shows "?".
  • Staleness colors: fresh (<= 7d, normal), warn (8-10d, orange), late (11-20d, red), stalled (>20d or no pace/insufficient samples, red "?"). Geometry is frozen until new completions update the pace.

Note

Learn more in Workflow Overview.

Runtime estimation (Pro)

Calculate screen time, audiobook duration, and manuscript length estimates.

  • Enable runtime estimation: Activates runtime calculations for scenes and the Chronologue Runtime sub-mode.
  • Default runtime profile: The profile used when no per-scene override is set.
  • Edit profile: Manage multiple profiles with different settings for various project types.
  • Profile label: Display name shown in pickers and the runtime modal.
  • Content type: Choose between Novel/Audiobook (unified narration pace) or Screenplay (separate dialogue/action pacing).

Screenplay mode settings:

  • Dialogue words per minute: Reading speed for quoted dialogue (default 160).
  • Action words per minute: Reading speed for scene descriptions (default 100).
  • Parenthetical timings: Seconds added for screenplay directives — (beat), (pause), (long pause), (a moment), (silence).

Novel/Audiobook mode settings:

  • Narration words per minute: Reading pace for all content (default 150).

Session planning (optional):

  • Drafting words per minute: Your writing speed for completion projections.

  • Daily minutes available: For "45 min/day" style time estimates.

  • Runtime arc cap default: Controls Chronologue Runtime sub-mode arc scaling. Lower values emphasize shorter scenes.

Note

See Pro for full Pro feature documentation and Runtime for the Runtime visualization.

Story beats system

Configure the structural pacing guide for your story.

  • Story beats system: Select a preset structure (Save The Cat, Hero's Journey) or choose Custom.
  • Custom story beat system editor: (Visible when "Custom" is selected) Name your beat system, then add beats. Assign each beat to an act and drag to reorder. Row colors show sync status at a glance:
    • Green — beat note exists and Act matches.
    • Orange — beat note exists but Act is wrong. Use Repair to update frontmatter.
    • Red — duplicate beat title or multiple files match. Resolve manually.
    • No highlight — new beat with no file yet. Use Create to generate it.
  • Create sets: Generate beat set notes in your source folder. The button shows how many new notes will be created and is disabled when all beats already have files.
  • Beat filename numbering: Generated beat notes use decimal minor prefixes (for example, 7.01 Midpoint.md) so scene integer slots remain canonical.
  • Repair beat notes: (Appears when misaligned beats or missing Beat Model are detected) Updates frontmatter (Act, Beat Model, Class) only. Does not rename files. See Beat Audit + Heal for details.
  • Beat properties editor: Customize additional beat properties and choose which fields appear in the beat hover synopsis. Stored per beat system.
  • Saved sets: Save and switch between multiple custom beat systems. Each system stores its beat list, Beat properties editor fields, and hover metadata selections.

Note

Custom beat properties use the same structure as preset systems (Class: Beat, Act, Purpose, Beat Model, Range, etc.). Use the Beat properties editor to extend this with your own fields.

Note

Learn more about using beats in Gossamer Mode.

Acts

Configure the high-level structure of your narrative ring.

  • Act count: Sets the number of acts (Minimum 3). This divides the Progress, Narrative, and Gossamer timeline rings.
  • Act labels: (Optional) Define custom names for your acts (e.g., "Part 1, Part 2, Part 3").
  • Show act labels: Toggle to hide labels and show only act numbers.

Note

See Narrative Mode for details on the act structure.

Scene properties & remapping

Manage how Radial Timeline reads and writes metadata.

  • Custom Metadata Mapping: Map existing frontmatter keys in your vault (e.g., story_date) to the system keys (e.g., When) without changing your files.
  • Scene properties editor: Enable this to customize the advanced scene properties, add optional fields, and control hover metadata icons/order.

Note

Chronologue mode settings

Configure the time-based visualization of your story.

  • Chronologue duration arc cap: Determines the maximum duration used for scaling the "duration arcs" (outer ring segments). Can be set to "Auto" or specific timeframes.
  • Discontinuity gap threshold: Controls the sensitivity of the Shift sub-mode (time gaps). When the gap between scenes exceeds this threshold, an infinity symbol appears. Default is auto-calculated (3x median gap).

Note

Read more about Chronologue Mode.

Point of view

Control how narrative perspective is visualized.

  • Global POV: Sets a default Point of View mode (e.g., First Person, Third Person) for the entire project.
  • Scene level YAML overrides: You can override the global default on a per-scene basis using the POV YAML key.

Note

See POV Keywords for configuration details and supported keywords.

Planetary Time

Configure custom calendars for sci-fi and fantasy worlds.

  • Enable planetary time: Activates the planetary time conversion features.
  • Active profile: Selects which custom calendar profile is currently active (includes a Mars template).
  • Profiles: Create and edit profiles. Define day length, year length, epoch offsets, and custom month/day names.

Note

See Planetary Time for usage details.

Backdrop & Micro-backdrops

Configure the Chronologue backdrop ring and micro-backdrop rings.

  • Show backdrop ring: Display the backdrop ring in Chronologue mode. When disabled, the ring space is reclaimed for subplot rings.
  • Micro backdrops: Create micro-backdrop rings — thin colored ring segments with a title, color, and date range — to highlight eras, seasons, or historical milestones without creating full backdrop note files.

Note

See Backdrop for full details on both backdrop types.

Progress stage colors

  • Progress stage colors: Customize the colors used for the progress stages (Zero Draft, Author's Draft, House Edit, Press Ready).

Subplot ring colors

  • Subplot ring colors: Customize the 16-color palette used for subplot rings.

Social Tab

Social · Author Progress Report

Generate shareable, spoiler-safe progress graphics for social media, crowdfunding campaigns, and newsletters.

Note

For detailed information about how APR works, see Author Progress Report.

Progress Tracking

  • Stage Tracking: Track one stage at a time using a scene goal. Choose the stage, then set a target scene count when you want a fixed denominator for that stage. This is especially useful in Zero when you want to draft toward a known scene total.
  • Full Manuscript: Track the whole manuscript across Zero → Press. This gives you an end-to-end view of how far the book has moved through the full revision pipeline.
  • Date Goal: Track elapsed time between a start date and a target date. Use this when the APR should reflect calendar progress toward a deadline rather than scene counts.

Preview & Size:

  • Preview Size: Choose Thumbnail (100x100px), Small (150x150px), Medium (300x300px), or Large (450x450px). This also sets the default export size and updates the preview in real time.

Styling

  • Transparent Mode (Recommended): No background fill — adapts to any page or app. Ideal for websites, blogs, and platforms that preserve SVG transparency.
  • Background Color: Bakes in a solid background. Use when transparency isn't reliable: email newsletters, Kickstarter, PDF exports, or platforms that rasterize SVGs.
  • Theme Contrast: Choose Light Strokes, Dark Strokes, or No Strokes to match your background.
  • Link URL: Where the graphic should link to (e.g., your website, Kickstarter, or shop).

Theme

  • Theme palette: Applies curated colors across Title, Author, % Symbol, % Number, and RT Badge based on the Title color.
  • Book Title: Appears on your public report graphic.
  • Author Name: Appears alongside the title (e.g., "Title - Author").
  • Typography & color overrides: Fine-tune fonts, weights, and colors for title, author, percent number/symbol, and RT badge.

Sharing & Automation

  • Update Frequency: How often to auto-update the live embed file. Options: Manual Only, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. "Manual" requires clicking the update button in the Author Progress Report modal.
  • Refresh Alert Threshold: Days before showing a refresh reminder in the Radial Timeline View (1-90 days, default 30). Only shown when Update Frequency is set to Manual.
  • Embed File Path: Location for the "Live Embed" SVG file. Must end with .svg. Default: Radial Timeline/Social/book/apr-default-manual-medium.svg.
  • Auto-update embed paths: When size or schedule changes, update default and campaign embed paths if they still match the default pattern.

Campaign Manager (Pro): Create multiple APR configurations for different platforms (Kickstarter, Patreon, Newsletter, Website) with independent refresh schedules.

  • Campaign Presets: One-click setup for common platforms:

    • Kickstarter (7-day refresh reminders)
    • Patreon (14-day refresh reminders)
    • Newsletter (14-day refresh reminders)
    • Website (30-day refresh reminders)

  • Per-Campaign Settings:

    • Update Frequency: Manual, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly auto-updates
    • Refresh Alert Threshold: Days before showing refresh reminder (1-90 days)
    • Embed File Path: Custom SVG path for each campaign
    • Export Size: Thumbnail, Small, Medium, or Large
    • Manual Reveal Options: Show/hide Subplots, Acts, Status, and Progress Percent (only when Teaser Reveal is disabled)

  • Teaser Reveal (Pro): Automatically reveal more detail as your book progresses. Creates anticipation as your audience sees more of your timeline structure.

    • Enable Teaser Reveal: Toggle progressive reveal on/off

    • Reveal Schedule: Choose a preset or customize:

      • Slow: Reveals at 15%, 40%, and 70% progress
      • Standard: Reveals at 10%, 30%, and 60% progress (default)
      • Fast: Reveals at 5%, 20%, and 45% progress
      • Custom: Set your own thresholds (1-99%)

    • Reveal Stages:

      • Teaser (0%): Progress ring only
      • Scenes (threshold 1): Scene cells appear (no colors)
      • Colors (threshold 2): Scene cells with status colors
      • Full (threshold 3): Complete timeline with subplots and acts

    • Stage Skipping: Click on middle stages (Scenes, Colors) in the preview to skip them entirely, jumping directly to the next stage.

Note

Campaign Manager and Teaser Reveal are undergoing final testing and will be available soon. During the Open Beta, all Pro features are free to early adopters.

Inquiry Tab

Inquiry

Configure how Inquiry scans, stores, and annotates briefings. See Inquiry for full feature documentation.

Briefings & auto-save:

  • Briefing folder: Where Inquiry markdown briefings are stored when auto-save is enabled (default Radial Timeline/Inquiry/Briefing).
  • Embed JSON payload in briefings: Includes the validated Inquiry JSON payload in the saved briefing.
  • Auto-save Inquiry briefings: Save a briefing automatically after each successful Inquiry run.

Action notes:

  • Write Inquiry action notes to scenes: Append Inquiry action notes to the target YAML field on hit scenes.
  • Action notes target YAML field: Frontmatter field to receive Inquiry action notes (default Pending Edits).

Inquire session history:

  • Inquire session history: This does not affect Inquiry Briefs. It relates only to Inquiry View rehydration, which loads previous sessions from the Session Manager Popover.
  • Remember up to: Select how many recent sessions to keep for Inquiry View rehydration (10, 30, 60, or 100; max 100).

Inquiry sources

  • Inquiry class scope: Limit which YAML classes Inquiry can scan (use / to allow all classes).
  • Inquiry scan folders: Limit scans to specific vault paths; supports wildcards and / for vault root.
  • Class enablement & scope: Toggle which classes are scanned and whether they apply to Book and/or Saga scopes.
How Inquiry identifies books

Inquiry uses two methods to identify which folders are books:

  1. Folder name: Folders named Book 1, Book 2, etc. (case-insensitive) are automatically recognized as books.
  2. Outline metadata: Any folder that contains an Outline file with scope: book in its YAML frontmatter is recognized as a book — regardless of the folder's name.

The second method lets you name book folders however you like (e.g., The Fellowship of the Ring) as long as the folder contains an Outline note with the following frontmatter:

---
class: Outline
scope: book
---

The Outline file can be anywhere inside the book folder (including inside subfolders like Plot/). Folders that match neither method (such as Characters/ or Places/) are excluded from the saga minimap.

Inquiry prompts

  • Default prompts: Built-in prompt slots for Setup, Pressure, and Payoff zones.
  • Custom questions: Add and reorder custom prompts per zone; Pro unlocks extra slots.

Corpus (CC)

  • Thresholds: Tune word-count tiers (Empty, Sketchy, Medium, Substantive) used in Corpus cards.
  • Highlight completed docs with low substance: Flags completed notes that remain in Empty or Sketchy tiers.

Publish Tab

Everything you need to go from draft to finished manuscript.

Export & Pandoc settings

  • Pandoc binary path: Optional custom path to your pandoc executable. If blank, system PATH is used.
  • Enable fallback Pandoc: Attempt a secondary bundled/portable pandoc if the primary is missing.
  • Fallback Pandoc path: Path to a portable/bundled pandoc binary.
  • Pandoc templates: Custom LaTeX templates for Screenplay, Podcast Script, and Novel Manuscript formats.

Supported export formats:

  • Screenplay — Industry-standard screenplay formatting
  • Podcast Script — Structured audio content with timing
  • Novel Manuscript — Standard submission format for prose

Note

Core includes the standard publishing setup, Pandoc PDF export, and bundled Core PDF layouts. Pro adds extra templates, imported-template support, and deeper publishing customization. See Publishing for the full guide — template catalog, Book Details, BookMeta-backed page slots, the Chapter: field, and scene opener heading options.

AI Tab

AI LLM for scene analysis

Configure the AI assistant for narrative analysis.

  • Enable AI LLM features: Toggles AI commands and visual indicators.
  • AI prompt role & context template: Customize the system prompt and context sent to the AI.
  • Manage context templates: Use the gear icon to edit templates and choose the active prompt role for analysis and Gossamer scores.
  • Show previous and next scene analysis: When enabled, scene hover metadata includes the AI pulse for neighboring scenes. Disable for a more compact view.
  • Model: Select your preferred LLM (Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, OpenAI GPT, or Local/OpenAI-compatible).
  • Latest model tags: Models labeled "Latest" auto-update to the newest version within that provider.
  • API keys: Enter your API key for the selected provider (Anthropic, Gemini, or OpenAI).

Local LLM settings (visible when Local/OpenAI-compatible is selected):

  • Local LLM Base URL: The API endpoint. For Ollama, use http://localhost:11434/v1. For LM Studio, use http://localhost:1234/v1.

  • Model ID: The exact model name your server expects (e.g., "llama3", "mistral-7b").

  • Custom Instructions: Additional instructions added to the start of the prompt for fine-tuning local model behavior.

  • Bypass scene hover metadata yaml writes: When enabled, local LLM analysis skips writing to the scene note and saves results in the RAW AI log instead.

  • API Key (Optional): Required by some servers; usually ignored for local tools like Ollama.

  • Log AI interactions to file: When enabled, saves detailed JSON logs for each AI request in the AI output folder.

Note

Local/OpenAI-compatible setup is documented separately in Local LLM. For Pulse, use the hosted providers documented in AI Pulse Triplet Analysis.

Note

Learn how to interpret the analysis in AI Pulse Triplet Analysis.

Advanced Tab

Configuration

Technical configuration and file handling.

  • Manuscript ripple rename: Normalizes scene and active-beat filename prefixes after drag reorder. Scenes are resequenced as integers (1, 2, 3), while beats are resequenced as decimal minors (1.01, 1.02, ...).
  • Auto-expand clipped scene titles: Automatically expands truncated text in the radial view on hover.
  • Timeline readability scale: Adjusts the global font size of the timeline (Normal or Large).
  • Metadata refresh debounce: Adjust how often the timeline refreshes while typing (default 10000ms).
  • Reset subplot color precedence: Clears manually assigned dominant subplot colors.

PRO Tab

Pro Signature (Early Access)

Pro Mode extends Radial Timeline with advanced workflows for authors who want more.

  • Pro toggle: Enable or disable Pro features. When disabled, you preview the Core experience.
  • Pro access key (coming soon): During Early Access, Pro is active by default. When paid licensing launches, enter your key here.

Pro features include:

  • Inquiry+ — Additional custom question slots per zone
  • Advanced publishing layouts — Pro PDF styles and imported LaTeX templates
  • APR Campaigns — Multiple Author Progress Report campaigns
  • Chronologue Runtime sub-mode — Scene duration visualization
  • Website Exclusives — Template vaults and guided demonstrations

Note

See Pro for full Pro feature documentation.

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